Brick-machine



A. ROOT.

BRICK MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 9.1911

I3.. HOST.

BRICK MACHINE.'

APPLICATION F|LED1uNE9,1Q7.

mme@ May 10, 119219 A. HGT.

BRICK MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED1uNE9,L917,

Patent-ed May w, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

A. HOUTA BRICK MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 9,19I7. I 1,377,525, Pamed May III), IIQZ.

4 SHEE l'S-SHEET 4.

i zen of the United States, residing at Vilkes- UNITED srarssM I ATENT orifice.

ARTHUR ROOT, F WILKES-IBARRE, PENNSYLVANIA.

BRICK-MACHINE. v

Specification of Letters Patent.

i Patented May 1G, 1921.

Applicationled .Tune 9, 1917. `Serial No. 173,756.

To all 'whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ARTHUR Roofr, a c1ti Barre, in the county of Luzerne, State of Pennsylvania, yhave invented a new and useful Brick-ll/lachine, of which the following ,y is a specification.

i for supporting, reciprocating and rotating atrequired intervals, the cutting wire reel, including automatic means for shifting the wire reel, its housing and supporting means,

i and for simultaneously throwing into and out of yactiony the clutch device for rotating the reel. v i v The invention comprises improved means for varying or adjusting the friction clutch connection between the measuring pulley and the driving shaft for rotating the cutting reel; safety means included in such actuation, improved oiling devices and other details of construction.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate merely by kway of example a suitable embodiment of my invention- Figure 1 isa side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a plan view.

. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line 3, 3 or Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical 'section on line 4, 4 of Fig. 1 with the clutch in.

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5, 5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a detail on an enlarged scale of the Aclutch shitting mechanism.

Fig. 7 is a similar view with parts in different position.

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of the positive clutch mechanism.

Fig. 9 is a cross section on line 9, 9 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the oiling device for the platen.

Fig. 11 isa section on line 11,11 of Fig. 10. Fig. 12 is a side elevation on an enlarged scale of cam 60 and associated mechanism. Fig. 13 is a plan view of same.

Fig. 14 is a detail view in perspective of thelever 65 and its associated mechanism.

Fig. 15 is a section on line 15, 15 of Fig. 3.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

The wire reel comprises the two gear wheels 14l supported and rotating` on the flanges 15 of the stationary housing 16.

These gear wheels are connected by the threey cross bars 17 which carry the wire hooks 18 of the usual construction. To these hooks 18 are secured one of the ends of each of thewires 19, the other ends being securedV to the rings 20 rotatably mounted on the shaft or beam 21 betweenthe spacing shoulders 22. Thebeam 2 1 is secured at' each end to the housing :trame 16. This beam also carries the platen or series of platens 23 which support the clay bar as the wires pass through the same.

llo/oath] mounted housing- The housing 16 is provided with the pair of'extensions or wings 24 on one side thereof and the pair of extensions or wings 25 on the other side@ rilhese wings engage on the top of the rollers 26 and 27 mounted on the stationaryframework. Rollers 26 are mounted on the housings 28 of the pinions 29, while rollers 27 are mounted on the framework at the other side of housing 16. These rollers are provided with peripheral channels to receive the cooperating channel yformation on the wings to prevent lateral play. This roller support of the housing 16 permits of a horizontal reciprocating movement of the said housing.

Reoiprocatz'on of wir@ reel-This reciprocating movement of housing 16 is caused by a pair of oppositelyV acting cams 30 and 31 secured to and rotating with the regulating shaft 32 of the regulating or measuring pul ley 83. The purpose of this movement is to cause the wire reel to move longitudinally or horizontally with the clay bar while the reel rotates during the cutting operation through the bar. After the cutting action the rotation of the reel is arrested and the reel is moved back horizontally to initial position for receiving and operating upon another portion of the advancing clay bar.

Rotation of the 'LU/re reel-The following mechanism is provided for causing` the periodic or intermittent rotative movement of the wire reel. The shaft 34 is provided with the driving pulley 35 driven from any suitable source'of power.

On shaft 34 is mounted the hollow shaft 36 carrying the pinions 29 and 29. This shaft 36 is supported in the bearings 37. Another hollow shaft 38 is mounted on shaft 34 and supported in the bearing 39. On hollow shaft 38 is secured the pinion 40 coperating with bevel gear 54 on regulating shaft 32 carrying measuring pulley 33.' A friction element 41 is secured on shaft 38 and cooperates with friction element 42 feathered on the driving shaft 34. A hand wheel 43l mounted on shaft 34, is provided with a threaded extension 44 operating' in the threaded housing 39, and serves toadj ust the efficiency of frictional engagement between said friction elements. The object of this 'adjustment is to secureA the required transmission of power from the driving shaft 34 through the friction elements 41 and 42, to the measuring pulley, depending upon the speed of travel and the consistency of the clay har.

Pinion 29 is featheredvon shaft 36 and is provided with the extension having collars 46, between which is loosely mounted the sleeve 45. This sleeve 45 is'provided with trunnions 47 whichengage the bifurcated end of lever 48. This lever 48 is mounted on shaft 49 having fixed bearings..V To shaft 49 is secured the lever 50 having at its free end the roller 51. To shaft 49 is also secured the lever 52 having at its free end the roller 53. y

Mounted on the regulating shaft 32 of the 'regulating or measuring pulley 33 is the cam 56 adapted to engage roller 51 on lever 50. Secured on shaft 57 is the bevel gear 58 which coperates with gear 59 secured to hollow shaft 36. Mounted on shaft 57 is the cam 60 adapted tol engage roller and actuate lever 52.V It will he understood that the actuation of these levers 50'and 52 serves to rock lever 48 in opposite directions respectively and thus, through sleeve 45 and collars 46, to shift the pinion 29 to the right or to the left.

Mounted on one end of pinion 29, see

Figs. 8 and 9, is the formation 61 having its outer portion 61 of smooth circular formation, while the portion adjacent the pinion is of ratchet formation, that is provided with the ratchet projections 612. These in the example illustrated are four in number and evenly spaced. These projections are provided with the beveled edges 613 extending down to the smooth circular portion 61.

Mounted on the shaft 34 is the cylindrical housing 63 provided with the pawls 64 projecting through the wall of housing 63 housing 63 and formation 61.

and engaging the formation 61.l These pawls are controlled by the springs 62. The lower end of each pawl is provided with a bevel face for coperation with the beveled edges 613 of the ratchet formation.

Vhen the pawls 64 engage the smooth portion 61 of the formation 61, independent rotative movement is permitted between Vhen the formation 61 is shifted to the left the pawls engage the ratchet formation thereby forming a positive clutchas shown in F ig. 8.

When this shifting movement of formation 61 into the housing 63, takes place, with the projections 612 in direct line with `the pawls, the beveled formations permit the pawls to ride up to the top of the projections, and upon further relative rotation between the parts the pawls descend into the recesses between the ratchet teeth or projections and thus form the positive clutch as stated. It will thus be seen that the lateral shift-ing of the formation 61 into the housing 63 is always permitted notwithstanding the relative positions of the pawls and ratchet teeth. Each pawl 'engages a corresponding ratchet tooth simultan@ ously, thus evenly dividing the stressV bel tween the rotating parts. Y

This movement of pinion 29 and formation 61 to the left is caused lhy the engagement of cam 56 with roller 51 on lever'O. It follows from this arrangement, that when said pawls`V and projections are in engagement, the rotative movement of shaft 34 is communicated to shaft 36 and pinions 29 and 29. This causes a-corresponding rotative movement of the wire reel. After a predetermined rotative movement of pinions 29, 29 and the wire reel, the shaft 57 carrying cam 60 isycorrespondingly rotated through the gears 58 and 59, causing the cam 60 to engage the rollerl 53 to actuate the lever 52 to rock lever 48 to the right,

thus moving the ratchet or clutch member 61 out of engagement with the pawls 64, which results in the interruption of the rotative movement of the reel until a further rotative movement of camV 56 causes the actuation through levers 50 and 48 of pinion 29 to the left to bring the pawl and ratchet clutch mechanism again into operative relationship when the cutting operation is repeated.

On shaft 49 is also secured the lever 65 provided at each end with the hook or stop 66. This lever is so'secured to shaft 49 that its a'Xis of movement corresponding to the axis of the shaft is at the middle part of the lever but so thatthe lever presents Va clear track for the roller 67 to travel from one end to the other, or from one side to the other of its axis of movement, asclearly shown .in Fig. 14. Roller 67 is connected to one end of spring 68,' the other end being adjustably connected to a stationary part 69. The purf pose of this over-the-center movement of the spring controlled roller is to snap the shaft 49 to litseXtreme limit of movement in either direction, after sufficient preliminary niovement has been communicated -thereto by cain 56 or cam 60. The further function of this mechanism is to hold said parts in said eX- treme position until Vagain actuated.

'preferred construction of lever 52 is shown inFigs. 6 and7 in which arm 70 1s rigidly` secured to shaft 49. Lever 52 is pivoted at 71 to the outer end of arm O. The underside of the end of lever 52 next to shaft 49 is cut away or rounded asy shown so that lever 52 may be rotated on pivot 71 in the clockwise direction. The upper portion of the end of lever -52 normally engages shaft 49 and so .limits its counter-clockwise moveV ment. The spring 72, in tension between arm 73, ywhich is rigid with shaft 49, andthe outer end of lever 52, normally holds the lever in the position shown. The object of this construction is to provide a safetyineans, whereby levers and 52 may have independent movement, in case, for any reason, one becomes locked against movement when the other is actuated. A

'Cam 60,y seel Figs. 12 and v13, is loosely mounted on the shaft 57 and is provided with a sector shaped recess for receiving the pin 87 which is fixed on shaft 57. The spiral spring 85 connected between the shaft and the cam normally maintains the cam in position with one 'margin of the sector shaped recess in lengagement with the pin 87. In operation, whenV the cam engages the roller 58 of lever 70 as shown inFig. 7, the shaft 57 ispermitted to have a quarter turn before further actuating the cam 60 to depress the lever 70. rThis results in a dwell corresponding to the time required for a quarter turn of the shaft andfor the pin 87 to move from one side of the sector shaped recess to the other, whereupon the cam 60 'is further rotated to depress the lever sufiiciently for it to be carried to its lowest position by the operation of the spring actuated lever 65, whereupon the cam 60 being released from the roller 53 iscarried a quarter turn forward by the action of the spring 85 which was compressed or put under tension by the quarter turn of the shaft, while the cam was being held in the position shown in `Fig. 7 .l By this construction the necessary dwell is secured before the actuation of the after Vdepressing the lever 70 carries the cam free of the roller 53 so that the lever 7 0 may be actuated in the opposite direction without interfering with the cam 6() when lever 50 is depressed.

OzZng merma- In order to facilitate the passage of the clay bar over the platens it is desirable to supply` a lubricant to the faces of the bar that are 'to contact with the platens,that.is, the underside and rear face. For this purpose IA provide theoil reservoir with suitable piping7 6 leading to the roller 77 having a yvertical axis, and piping 78 leading to the receptacle 79 inV which is placed the vroller 80. VThese'rollers are preferably provided with a `surface of oil conveying substances,and are adaptedto engage the bottom and `rear surface of the clay bar as it passes from the measuring pulley to the platens. A yielding pressure engagement is maintained between roller 77 and the surface of the clay bar by the action of spring 88, engaging the pivoted lever 89 which supports the upper end of the roller axis.

v `'Ihe receptacle 79 containing the roller 80, is provided with an aperturedy covering plate 81 having its top surface in the plane of the horizontal surfaces of the platens. The aperture` 82 `ofthe plate 81 is adapted to vpermit Vthe roller to project slightly through the same and above the surface yof the platen. The front margin of this aperture is beveled on the underside thus forming a sharp or wedge-shaped edge 81 adapted to engage the periphery'ofthe roller to divert or scrape a portion of theoilv therefrom, thus serving vmost efficiently to `feed oil to the underside of the clay bar to be carried forwardly over the platens.

This plate 81 is provided with marginal recesses'83 for engaginglugs or projections 84 on the receptacle to prevent horizontal displacement, but to permit arbitrary removal of the plate from the receptacle when it is desired to have access thereto.

In operation,the clay bar is delivered over length o'f clay bar has movedy along the platens, the cam 56 on measuring pulley shaft 32 causesfa shiftingV of one of theV gears 29 to render effective the positive clutch mechanismincluding elements 61 and 64 as above described. ofthe wire reel to bring aset of cutting wires 19 through the clay bar; At the same time the wire reel and its housing and the platens are moved forwardlyV with the clay bar by means of the cam 31 on the shaft of the measuring pulley, acting upon the roller 31 connected with said housing. This assures a straight cut of the wires through the clay bar, that is atY right angles with its longitudinal extension. AAt the end of the third ofa turn movement ofthe reel the cam ments, whereupon theV rotative movement of the reel is arrested. At the same time the This causes a rotative movement .the measuring pulley 88, and the oiling roller v79 to the platens 23. When a sufficient cam 30 operates upon=roller 30', which is connected with the housing, to cause a return movement of housing, and reel and platens to initial position. The cam 31 is so shaped and arranged as 'to cause a slow forward movement of the reel exactly timed with the movement of the clay bar. The cam 30 is so shaped as to cause a comparatively vquick returnmovement of the reel after the cutting operation and after the reel has ceased to rotate.

The cam 56, mounted on the measuring wheel shaft, is timed to throw the clutch elements 61 and 64 into operative relationship to start the rotation of the cutting reel as soon as the clay bar has moved to extend across the several platens 23.V The cam 60 is timed to actuate lever 50, 52 to throw said clutchelements out of operative relationship as soon as the cutting wires have passed through the bar. This lever 50, 52 is compound and spring controlled as' to its elements for purposes of safety as already described. The cam 60 is mounted on its actuating shaft with a spring controlled lost motion connection for the purposes already described.

The friction element 41 is secured to and rotates with the hollow shaft 38. This shaft 38 is directly geared through 40 and 54 with the regulating shaft 32 and is therefore subject to the control of the clay bar. This shaft 38 also carries the driving elements'of clutch 61, 64. The friction clutch element 42 is feathered on the main power shaft 34 and cooperates with the friction clutch element 41. The efliciency of frictional engagement is controlled or adjusted by hand wheel 43 as already described. The object of this adjustment is to secure and maintain the required power transmission between power shaft 34 and regulating shaft 32, with respect` to the speed with which the clay baris extruding, and also with respect to the consistency or stiffness of the clay, so as to synchronize the actuation of the wire reel with the movement of the claybar.

The devices for lubricating the clay bar c .serve to facilitate its passage over the platens both as to its underside and the rear face which support the bar as the cutting wires pass through same.

What I claim is 1. A brick machine having a horizontally rmovable housing, a wire reel rotatably mounted therein, and means for` causing a periodic` rotative movement of the wire reel, including a power shaft, a pinion, a coperating gear on the wire reel, elements forming a positive locking clutch operating between the power shaft and pinion, and automatic means for shifting Va clutch element,

comprising a rocking lever and a pair of rotating cams adapted alternately to coact with the opposite ends of said lever, one

cam operating to cause the engagement of the clutch elements and the other cam operating to cause their disengagement.

2. A brick machine asv defined in claim l, in which means are provided whereby one of the cams operates only while the clutch is effective between the power shaft and the pinion. i

3. A brick machine having a horizontally movable housing, a wire reel rotatably mounted therein and means for causing a periodic rotative movement of the reel including a power shaft, a pinion, a coperating gear on the reel, a positive clutch operating between the power shaft and pinion and` automatic means for shifting a clutch element and driving the same synchronously with the movement of the clay bar, said positive yclutch comprising a ratchet formation as one element and a housing provided with a plurality of coacting pawlsas the other element.

4. A brick machine as defined in claim 3, in which theratchet and pawls have cooperating beveled or inclinded faces for facilitating their co-action.

5. A brick machine having a horizontally movable housing, a wire reel rotatably mounted therein and meansfor causing a periodic rotative movement of the reel including a power shaft, a pinion, a coperating gear on the reel, a positive clutch operating between the power-shaft and pinion and automatic means for shifting a clutch element and driving the same synchronously with the movement of the clay bar, said driving means including an adjustable friction clutch for the transmission of power between the power shaft and the regulating shaft which is controlled by the clay bar.

6. A brick machine having a horizontally movable housing, a wire reel rotatably mounted therein and means for causing a periodic movement of the reel including a power shaft, a pinion, a cooperating gear on the reel, a positive clutch operating between the power shaft and pinion, and automatic means for shifting'a clutch element, comprising a rocking lever, a cam for actuating the same and an over-the-center spring controlledV mechanism for completing the cam-a`ctuated movement of the lever.

7. A brick machine as defined in claim 6, in which the spring controlled mecha- .nism serves to maintain the shift lever in either eXtreme position of its movement, with the clutch elements engaged or disengaged.

8. A brick machine having a wire reel,

and actuating mechanism therefor, including a positive clutch, and mechanism for causing the engagement and disengagement of the clutch elements comprising a cam, a cam operated rocking lever, Aa shift lever actuated thereby, a cam shaft' and means whereby the shaft is capable of a partial tion operating in Said recess to secure 10 movement independently of the cam. limited independent movement between cam 9. A brick machine as defined in, claim and shaft.

8 in which means are provided whereby 1l. A brick machine as defined in claim 5 the cam is capable of a Spring actuated l0, in which a spring is secured between the movementindependently of the cam shaft. shaft and the cam as means whereby the 15 10. A brick machine as dened in claim 8, relative movement therebetween puts the in which the cam is provided with a sector spring under tension.

shaped recess and the shaft with a projec- ARTHUR ROOT. 

